The coronation of the High King

Ruki did not think she had ever seen such a sight before. The entire city was decorated as far as she could tell from her tower window. She saw ponies everywhere, dressed up or not, running around enthusiastically. The gates of the castle gardens were open, but not everyone was allowed in. Only the kings of the smaller kingdoms and their family, plus the royals from Asterian were allowed to witness the ceremony. Well, those and Ruki and her family.

“Lady Ruki… It is time. Are you ready?” Yuuro asked.
“I told you not to call me lady.” Ruki snapped shortly.
She felt sorry for the poor guy, who she had met a week ago after her meeting with Takato in the graveyard. Apparently he was a prince of the country of Kin, which she had once visited when she was searching for information on winged ponies. He always treated her with so much respect and courtesy, it got on her nerves. If he was a prince too, why could he not treat her as an equal? She was not used to being so revered, and she didn’t like it one bit.

“I’m sorry, la… Ruki. Are you ready to go? The ceremony will start shortly.” Ruki had climbed the tower to get away from the masses, but of course Yuuro had managed to find her here, as if he always kept an eye on her.
“Yea, sure. I’m ready. Let’s go.” Ruki said, not bothering to check her dress.
Maids had been playing around all morning, dressing her up, doing her hair and, heaven forbid, putting makeup on.

She followed Yuuro through the hallways of the castle towards the throne room, which she had never seen before. It was a large, square room. Its purple walls were decorated with paintings of what Ruki suspected were the High Kings of Old. Against the most northern wall stood a large throne made out of dark wood. It stood on an oval platform and next to it stood two way smaller thrones. The main throne was richly decorated with carvings of flowers and trees.  

There were rows and rows of benches in the room on both sides of the path that led from the door to the throne. Most of the seats were already occupied. Only the first three rows on either side were free.
“We’re supposed to sit on the third row.” Yuuro told her, and Ruki walked towards the row and crawled to the corner, hoping she was not drawing too much attention.

It wasn’t much later when Hikary, Taira and Stelline joined them. Every one of them was dressed up like she was, but not as badly as the other women in the room, Ruki noticed. They all wore big, richly decorated hats, beautiful long scarves, flowers in their mane and tail, a beautiful cloak… as if those women were nothing but a display for their husband’s wealth, as none of the women were there alone.

“You look lovely, Ruki.” Hikary commented.
“Yea. Thanks.” Ruki sighed, wondering when the ceremony would start. She had of course never attended such a feast; she was a bit curious how things would go. More and more ponies entered the room, royals and kings and nobles and politicians. It was easy to tell the difference between them by the way they were dressed (kings wore a crown) and the way they acted.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ruki was crudely awakened from her thoughts by the ringing of trumpets high above them. The room fell silent until only the music remained. When the trumpets finally stopped, everyone got up and faced the path. A few moments later, an old pony slowly walked in, his head raised high and his eyes closed. He was wearing a long red cloak with a golden brim, and he was carrying a large golden sceptre with a globe on the top.

Once he reached the platform, the old pony climbed on it gracefully and stood next to the throne. He banged the sceptre on the floor twice, its deep sound travelling through the room. Ruki guessed the noise was enhanced by prana, making it travel to outside of the castle as well so the commoners outside could know the ceremony had started.

The doors of the room opened once more. A group of ponies entered the room, looking more nervous than the old guy. In the front, she recognized several ponies from the Asana Bond, accompanied by some lords she did not recognize. Following them was Inanna, Takato’s mother who she had seen only once before. After her followed two young men, who Ruki guessed were Takato’s siblings. They resembled him in a way; one of them had the same coat color and the other one, while having a different color pattern (a light blue coat and bright yellow mane) bore the same expression on his face as Takato had whenever he was nervous about something. They sat down in the front row, while all the officials took the second row.

As the trumpets started again, Takato stepped into the room. He wore a small crown on his head made of gold, but Ruki was not impressed. It was small and barely visible under his mane. His long cape, purple with a golden brim and decorated with flowers and plants very much like the throne itself covered his entire back and trailed behind him over the floor. Behind Takato there were two guards, but they seemed to have only a ceremonial function. Takato walked up to the platform, but he did not step on it. Instead, he kneeled.

The old pony who had entered the room first, stepped forward and spoke, his voice coming from all directions at once. “Kings and Lords, Ministers and Royals, we are here together today to grant the title of High King to our crown prince Takato. My name is Marahen du Larq, prince of Asterian. As is the tradition, in my place should stand the old king. However, as I have seen with my own eyes, High King Shanjahen is no longer able to continue his task. His condition has worsened to such a state that he is not able to perform his role in the ceremony, so I am here to fulfil this task for him.”

“Who is he?” Ruki whispered, certain Yuuro would know.
“Shanjahen’s youngest brother. Apparently he was a supporter of the Bond, though never officially.” Yuuro answered.

“Takato!” The old pony’s voice boomed through the room, drawing Ruki’s attention back to him.
 “Do you understand all the rules that you must henceforth obey, like they are written in the constitution of Asterian?” The old pony asked.
“I do.”
"And do you promise to do whatever lies in your power to obey them?”
“I do.”

Marahen kept asking more questions, to which all of them Takato answered “I do.” Afterwards, he proceeded in asking several lords of Asterian if they would accept Takato as their king.
When the final one had answered “I do”, Marahen said: “Then Takato, son of former High King Shanjahen and his official heir, I now declare you the king of Asterian!” Cheers erupted throughout the room, ponies clapping and cheering and bowing for their new king.

Takato, however, did not turn or accept the cheers. He knew something else was waiting for him still. Once the crowd had calmed down, Marahen continued to talk.
“Now then, King Takato of Asterian, I ask of you; do you accept the responsibilities, duties and obligations that come with the position of High King? Do you promise to put the interests of those you rule before all else?

Do you promise, King Takato of Asterian, to serve all ponies from the west rightfully, and do you promise to always have their best interest at heart? Will you obey the laws that bind you, and will you always listen carefully to the advice and objections your subjects give you? Will you obey the kings and guide them?”
“I do, and I will.” Takato answered while still bowing before his uncle.

His uncle looked up, and addressed the first king in the room. He asked him if he would accept Takato as his High King, and the king answered that he would. Marahen asked the question to all kings that had gathered in the throne room. When he was done, he asked the representatives of the kings that weren’t able to make it in time; Ruki had learned every kingdom had a representative live in ZoroAster, usually a younger brother of the king, to deal with business there and to maintain contact with the High King. Not many kings were unable to make it, though; only three representatives were asked.

When the final pony answered “I do, and I accept”, Ruki was surprised when she noticed the entire room was being lit up by a strange purple glow. Prana seemed to fill the room, coming in through the walls and through the floor. It slowly flowed in the direction of the platform and, ultimately, towards Takato. It swirled around him, becoming so thick that Ruki began to have trouble making out Takato’s features from the rest.

After a minute or two, the prana seemed to float above him instead of around him. Looking at Takato’s face, she saw the crown Takato had been wearing had been lifted from his head by the forces of the prana.
“Is that even possible?” She whispered.
“Apparently.” Yuuro answered.
The prana began to swirl faster and faster around the crown, and ultimately Ruki could no longer tell the difference. All she saw was a fast spinning disc floating above Takato’s head. After a while, the disc began to descend. It landed softly on Takato’s head, and the prana flowed slowly away from it, disappearing in the air.

What was left, though, was not the same crown Ruki had seen on his head but a few moments ago. Instead, a magnificent crown decorated Takato’s proud head. It seemed to glow with prana itself, and it was large. In the middle of the crown was one large purple jewel, the source of the prana that glowed from the crown. The rest of the crown was pure gold, with three spikes, the middle one higher than the outside two that looked to Ruki like three little mountains. It was truly a gorgeous crown.

Once again, the crowd erupted with clapping and cheering. This time the noise was louder, and after a moment or two Ruki could actually hear the cheers from outside. So, Takato was not only accepted as king of Asterian, but also as High King of the West, and everyone cheered.
“What happened there? I didn’t think such a thing was possible. Did the prana like, change the crown?” Ruki asked Yuuro.

“I don’t know. I don’t know much about prana either, Ruki… but the crown on his head now is indeed the crown of the High King. I’ve seen it in paintings and pictures. Maybe it will only show itself on the head of the true High King?” Ruki told herself she would ask someone who could know after the ceremony was over; she was curious what had just happened to the crown.

After the cheering, once again silence filled the room. All eyes were fixed on Takato, who had gotten up and was facing the crowd now. When he spoke, Ruki was sure everyone could hear his voice; not just inside the room but also outside, his voice being guided by the prana he so easily commanded.

“Lords and Ladies, Kings and Queens, citizens of Asterian and citizens of the West, I thank you. I thank you, for all the faith you have put into me today. I thank you, all of you who supported me and the ones standing beside me in the hard times that are now finally behind us. I thank you, for enduring that which my father so ignorantly unleashed upon us.

And I apologize. I apologize, for not being able to stop my father sooner. I apologize, for all the laws aimed to suppress those who my father feared. I apologize, for the way ponies were treated when they disobeyed these unrightful laws. I apologize, for running away once I uncovered my father’s dark secrets. And I apologize, for keeping my subjects in the dark of my actions for so very long.

But, I am here now. I did what I thought was right in order to let justice persevere. I ran away, but only to ensure my own survival away from my fathers grasp, so that one day I might return here and rule with a true heart, not one poisoned by my father’s actions. Because make no mistake; my father was a venomous man. He had delusions about forcing the Guardians out of the sky, so that he could rule them; for this purpose, he murdered my sister Asana and he tried to kill our honourable guest Stelline, princess of the Friendship Lands in the east.

I am here now! My father’s reign is over; we stand at a new dawn. I will undo the laws he forced upon you all. I will uncover all the horrible deeds my father did and show them to all, so you can judge for yourselves. I will remove those from power who unrightfully gained it under his command, and I will restore those who lost it in the same way. Justice will rule once more!

I am here now, and I will not only look at what my father did! I will bring justice to the past, but I will also welcome the new day with a fresh look. I will see to it that our inner bonds grow ever stronger. I will see to it that our wealth is distributed equally. I will see to it, that all the good we are all used to WILL be maintained!

I am here now, and I will go beyond this! In my struggle, I have received tremendous help of the princesses of the East. Before they return home, I will work out a treaty with them that will benefit all of us. We will learn from each other, we will trade, we will make new friends and companions and we will make sure, together, that no person like my father will EVER gain power again!”